Jimmy Rankin is Alt.Country, Honestly

He will always best be known as part of the Rankins, the East Coast family that brought us crossover Celtic-pop song 'Fare Thee Well Love', among others. But in 1999 the band the Rankins came to an end, and core songwriter Jimmy Rankin decided to move on to a career separate from his family, as a solo artist.

Part of that solo career includes touring, which is just what Jimmy Rankin is doing this summer. He has 12 dates scheduled across Canada, spread out over the months of June, July and August. Many of the performances will be taking place in the East Coast provinces, with the rest being scattered throughout Ontario and the prairies.

Although his roots lie in Celtic music, Rankin's new material is completely removed from that genre. These days the music of Jimmy Rankin would best be compared to Wilco, the Jayhawks or even early Ryan Adams. Even though Rankin has become one of Canada's premiere alt.country acts, most people still mistakenly pigeonhole him into the Celtic genre (it's a shame, really).

Rankin put out his debut solo album 'Song Dog' in the summer of 2001, with strong support from his peers and Rankin fans both. The record went on to win tons of praise and many awards, including two Juno noms. Released late last year was Rankin's second album 'Handmade', which he will be touring in support of.